Cellular Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access Systems Research Articles

Impact of Sub-Band Correlation on SFR and Comparison of FFR and SFR

In soft frequency reuse (SFR) when the user is classified as a cell-center user based on signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio in a sub-band, the user retains its sub-band. On the other hand, if the user is classified as a cell-edge user, a new sub-band is allocated. We analyze the impact of correlation between the cell-center sub-band and the cell-edge sub-band for a user when the SFR technique is used in a cellular orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) system. The coverage probability (CP) and the average rate are derived for the following two cases: 1) when the sub-bands are independent and 2) when the sub-bands are completely correlated. We show that correlation significantly decreases the edge CP and the average rate of the SFR technique, and as the power control factor increases, the impact of correlation decreases. Fractional frequency reuse (FFR) and SFR techniques are compared and it is shown that the impact of correlation on the FFR is significantly lower. Furthermore, it is also shown that the FFR provides better edge CP and average rate when compared with the SFR in single-input single-output (SISO) networks, thereby suggesting that the FFR should be preferred over SFR in cellular SISO OFDMA systems. However, for single-input multiple-output networks, the SFR provides a better average rate when compared with the FFR, especially when the sub-band correlation is not significant. Finally, the impact of log-normal shadowing has been carefully studied.

Complexity Analysis of Joint Subcarrier and Power Allocation for the Cellular Downlink OFDMA System

Consider the cellular downlink Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) system where a single transmitter transmits signals to multiple receivers on multiple discrete subcarriers. To adapt fast channel fluctuations, the transmitter should be able to dynamically allocate subcarrier and power resources. Assuming perfect channel knowledge, we formulate the joint subcarrier and power allocation problem as two optimization problems: the first is the one of minimizing the total transmission power subject to quality of service constraints, and the second is the one of maximizing a system utility function subject to power budget constraints. In this letter, we show that both the aforementioned formulations of the joint subcarrier and power allocation problem are generally NP-hard. We also identify several subclasses of the problem which are polynomial time solvable.

Erratum to: Joint subcarrier and power allocation for downlink cellular OFDMA systems by intercell interference limitation

This paper addresses resource allocation for sum throughput maximization in a sectorized two-cell downlink orthogonal frequency-division multiple-access (OFDMA) system impaired by multicell interference. It is well known that the optimization problem for this scenario is NP-hard and combinational, which is here converted to a novel sum throughput maximization problem in cellular OFDMA systems based on the intercell interference limitation. Then, three subclasses of this new problem are solved. By the first subclass, on the assumption that subcarrier allocation parameters are fixed, an algorithm for optimal power allocation is obtained. However, the optimal resource allocation requires an exhaustive search, including the optimal power allocation which cannot be implemented in practice due to its high complexity. By the second subclass, the problem is reduced to a single cell case where the intercell interference in each subcarrier is limited to a certain threshold. Based on the solution of the single cell problem, a distributed resource allocation scheme with the aim of small information exchange between the coordinated base stations is proposed. By the third subclass, the centralized resource allocation for two adjacent cells as a general problem is solved. Here, the algorithm allocates simultaneously the subcarriers and the power of the considered two cells while the resource allocation parameters of both cells are coupled mutually. The present study shows that distributed and centralized resource allocation algorithms have much less complexity than the algorithm used in the exhaustive search and can be used in practice as efficient multicell resource allocation algorithms. Simulation results illustrate the performance improvements of the proposed schemes in comparison to the schemes with no intercell interference consideration.

Resource allocation with interference coordination for relay-aided cellular orthogonal frequency division multiple access systems

Deployment of relay nodes (RNs) in cellular orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems provides an effective solution to increase high data rate coverage and improve cell throughput. However, a challenging issue is that additional interferences caused by RNs may substantially compromise the performance gain if no measure is taken. In this study, the authors address the problem of interference coordination in relay-aided cellular OFDMA systems, aiming at exploiting the benefits of RNs while minimising the negative effects of interferences introduced. The authors first analyse the possible interference scenarios in multi-cell systems. Based on the insights into their analysis, the authors propose resource allocation with interference coordination (RAIC) scheme for cellular OFDMA systems. RAIC selectively perform one of three resource allocation algorithms according to the offered traffic load in the system, to mitigate interferences and thus enhance system throughput. The authors conduct intensive simulation experiments based on the model with realistic broadband channel propagation conditions. Numerical results demonstrate that their proposed RAIC can effectively improve system throughput compared with the resource allocation schemes without appropriate interference coordination.

A Dynamic Resource Allocation Scheme for Inter-Cell Interference Coordination in Cellular OFDMA Systems

This paper presents a novel dynamic subchannel allocation scheme that can improve the cell capacity by coordinating the intercell interference (ICI) in a cellular orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) system. The proposed scheme mitigates the ICI by adopting the virtual cell concept and improves the frequency reuse factor through subchannel reuse among different virtual cells. In particular, each virtual cell is assigned a primary and a secondary subchannel group, and each sector base station (BSs) allocates the subchannel resulting in the least ICI in probability out of the candidate subchannels to the mobile stations, dynamically searching from its primary group and then secondary group. In addition, an optional use of pico-cell overlay at the intersection of the virtual cells is also proposed to enhance the fairness of the proposed scheme with the BS-MS distance. Through computer simulation, it is shown that the proposed scheme has the advantages of improved cell capacity and fairness compared to the conventional schemes.

Performance and Capacity of Cellular OFDMA Systems With Voice-Over-IP Traffic

We propose a methodology to evaluate the voice-over-IP (VoIP) capacity and performance of orthogonal frequency-division multiple-access (OFDMA)-based systems. The approach combines the queuing and interference analyses to find the delay and power outage. Using this analytical framework, we provide insight into tradeoffs among capacity-limiting factors, including channel dimensions, power, interference threshold and latency, and we identify techniques for capacity optimization. The numerical demonstrations are carried out on the newly standardized ultra mobile broadband (UMB) system. The same methodology can also be applied to Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Long Term Evolution (LTE) and wireless mobile Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) systems.